Will Mohammed Shami Make a Comeback in Time for the Australia Tour?

Mohammed Shami's anticipated return to cricket has generated buzz as India prepares for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of Australia. Shami, who has been out since the ODI World Cup final in November 2023, is aiming to make a comeback. To ease back into competition, he is set to play in the Ranji Trophy for Bengal in a few games before potentially joining the India squad.

Bengal’s coach, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, shared with the Indian Express that although Shami will miss the current match against Kerala, they hope he will play in upcoming games against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Shami has spent recent months at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, working on his fitness. Recently, he was seen training at the Chinnaswamy Stadium with the Indian team during their Test against New Zealand, alongside assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.

Shami expressed interest in playing a few Ranji Trophy games before the Australia tour, which his coach Shukla confirmed. Shami wants to get some competitive action under his belt before the series. He was part of India’s last tour to Australia but missed most of it after sustaining an arm injury in the opening Test at Adelaide.

Bengal is scheduled to play Karnataka in Bangalore on November 6 and then Madhya Pradesh in Indore on November 13. However, Shami’s participation in the latter could overlap with India’s three-day warm-up match in Perth starting November 15. Coach Shukla also noted that having Shami in good form would be a boost for Bengal as they are without four key players, who are either in the India or India A squads.

India’s tour of Australia begins with the first Test in Perth on November 22, followed by a gap before a pink-ball Test in Adelaide starting December 6.